Program for the Next Generation of Montanans

PI: Holly Truitt, Broader Impacts Group, University of Montana

The University of Montana’s Broader Impacts Group—comprised of the spectrUM Discovery Area, the Office of Autonomous Aerial Systems, and We Are Montana in the Classroom—will create an undergraduate-led aeronautics field-trip program for K-12 students with the goals of advancing STEM education in Montana and closing opportunity and achievement gaps that many students, especially those who are low-income, Native American, or female, experience in STEM. The project will create an aeronautics exhibit set for both in-museum and mobile programs, train 8 undergraduate educators to lead aeronautics field trips, deliver 96 field trips to K-12 school groups, and provide a free and reduced-fee field-trip bus to ensure access for schools. Rich with STEM and aeronautics role models both in exhibit signage and in person, the project’s exhibits and activities will include a flight simulator and autonomous aerial devices that students can fly safely in an enclosed space. To bookend field trips and mobile engagement, aeronautics role models at UM will visit K-12 classrooms to lead hands-on activities and inspire students about educational and career opportunities in STEM and aeronautics. All of the project’s programs will be grounded in best practices for engaging girls and underrepresented minorities in STEM and will continue to operate beyond the project year.